Talked to Dad last night. He is in the hospital (Holmes Regional) but they’re staying put since it’s a sound building. They may move out into the halls if things get too bad. He’s more pissed off about being in the hospital than the hurricane coming (50+ year Florida resident, so he’s been through a few).
My sister is at her daughter’s house in Clermont (outside Orlando), with her cats, so hopefully it’s far enough inland not to be too bad.
Not much makes me want to be back in Florida these days, but this does.
Why in the name of all that is holy would they close the Port of Tampa already. It’s very nice here right now and they could easily get ships out into the Gulf if they needed to or just leave them in the port. Sheesh.
Ivylad and I were talking about that. If it weren’t for weather forecasting, we’d all be dumb and happy, enjoying the bright sunny weather and going merrily about our business.
I remember reading a book set in Charleston after the Civil War. The heroine was caught at her plantation in a hurricane, and as I was reading it I thought, “Why did she make any preparations for the storm?”
:smack:
Maybe in ten years or so they’ll figure out a way to dissapate these hurricanes so we can get the rain we need but not the damaging winds.
(ivylass, a big Trek geek, who waits patiently for technology to catch up to Roddenberry’s visions…"
So Frances has weakened to a catagory 3 storm, but it has also slowed down. It’s not expected to make landfall until Sat. afternoon or evening. I’m in West Palm Beach and a part of me wishes it would just get here already because I’m sick of waiting. Of course I know that some people need the extra time to prepare. Luckily when we bought our house, they included metal hurricane shutters, so we didn’t have to get in line and wait for plywood.
See, this is the kind of thing I was talking about in my previous post. Did you “hear” or do you “know” if the Port of Tampa is closed? And, btw, that’s about the stupidest reason I can think of for running out of gas supplies… that’s not the only deepwater port in the state you know.
Let’s confine our gossip to facts, shall we? If you hear something, think it through. Try to verify and confirm. If you can’t, please don’t post it.
According to the Weather Channel reporters, gas supplies are running low in central and north Florida (along I-95) for two reasons: 1) some gas station owners boarded up and left. They may have gas. But they’re not there to sell it and they turned the pumps off when they left. 2) Some gas stations are holding back gas so the emergency trucks and equipment will have gas available after the storm when it’s also really needed.
Now, doesn’t that make a whole helluva lot more sense than “They shut down one deepwater port in the state and that’s why nobody has gas”?
If anyone can make it up here, since the FSU game is postponed, I’d suggest there’s rooms available here and I know there’s gas, water and ice because I just went out and bought extra.
Tallahassee Dopers: Be prepared to be without power for a few days. Stock up like you’re going camping. I also have room to harbor wayward Dopers who need shelter. I live very near the Senior Center on 7th Ave. and Monroe St.
Fair enough, although I was reacting to another post. I can’t find any info on the status of the Port of Tampa. Just saying it would be silly to close it, or perhaps premature. But there is a lot of “premature evacuation” around here at times. I guess they (the Emergency folks) are in a Hobbes choice sort of situation, but it does seem that the cure here is often worse than the possible disease.
On a separate note, one of the current tracks shows it ending in a Tropical Depression near Lexington, KY. Which I understand is just where the computer model puts it, but who really knows, so why bother to forecast so far out? It could mean a lot of rain and possibly tornadoes in the midwest, or it could just come to nothing.
Oh s–t, ivylass, I just saw your post in the story thread in Cafe Society! I wasn’t thinking that you were in Florida, see, and I’d been wishing you’d get into the story.
Stupid me. You take care of yourself, you hear? As my mother would say, “This is your mother speaking!” When it passes let us know if there is anything we can do for you.
And that last goes for any Florida Dopers in the path of Frances.!
I originally planned to leave West Palm yesterday, but my bosses called an emergency meeting on Thursday morning and told all of us to clear out by noon. So I got to leave a day earlier than I’d planned. Good thing, too. I got stuck in that bumper-to-bumper turnpike traffic. It took me 14 hours to get to my parents house in Inverness! (It usually takes me just under four hours.)
I almost ran out of gas at one point, too, because all of the stations were sold out. Very scary. Fortunately the Turkey Lake service plaza still had gas available. I had to wait on line for about an hour, but I was able to fill up. I didn’t get home until 3:30 a.m. Friday. By that time I’d been up for 24 hours, had barely eaten all day and was absolutely miserable. I don’t want to go through anything like that ever again.
We’re under tropical storm watch here in Inverness, but I’m better off here than in West Palm. The weather’s actually pretty nice here right now. We should start getting some rain and wind later this afternoon.
Right now our biggest worry is my grandmother. She never takes these storms seriously, and she refuses to leave her home. She thinks my mom can just drive over and get her if the storm gets really bad! And my older sister, who is autistic, is not taking this well at all. She’s absolutely terrified of hurricanes. We keep trying to reassure her that we’re safe here, but I can tell she’s panicking already.
Well, it looks like almost all of Florida will be drenched by Frances this weekend. Stay safe, everyone!
Hold on tight and don’t forget your water wings out there. Mrs. Shibb has taken the kids south to Sarasota today (it’s her sister’s birthday anyway) and I am staying here in case any hatches need battening down. Weather forecast here is for some moderately strong winds and lots and lots of water, mostly in rain form.
Good luck to all my FloriDoper brethern, sistern and cisterns! Also anywhere else this big ol’ girl decides to frolick!
Argh, the power went out! I was hoping it would stick around for a lot longer. My laptop battery is only good for about 80 more minutes. I think I’ll eat the ice cream in the fridge to cheer myself up.
I’ve heard Winter Park gas lost power, but here in Altamonte Springs (all outside Orlando), it’s quite calm out.
I have the TV on for tornado watches/warnings, but am getting sick to death of the “local dumbass on the coast who has stayed behind now wants to walk around outside” stories.
To quote one: “we’re here to improve morale… doing lots of high-fives… and help people who don’t have the proper tools… I have a leatherman…”
Shibb, have you heard what a local radio station suggested as a joke? They “suggested” that anytime someone says the phrase “hunker down”, down a shot!
Well, I haven’t heard anybody in the media yet tell me to “hunker down”, but if I had a shot I’d do it in your honor. I just was at an Irish bar watching the USA dismantle El Salvador, 2-0, and did have 3 pints of beer. Perhaps that counts for something.
In all seriousness, please hunker down, dear! (Waits for Carmelita to do a shot)
Seriously, everyone stay safe. My best friend and I went out for lunch earlier today (since I was supposed to help her move today). When she got home, one of the feeder bands had knocked her power out and she had a palm frond in her front yard.
Frances is a nasty broad, and she’s getting pissed.
It’s 7:30pm and there have been gusts and rain here and there. We have a large downed tree branch in our backyard, but that’s about it. Something tells me though: Tampa Bay isn’t getting off as easily this time…
